Our journey began in the United States with Charles Sweetser in Maine. Charles explained why dead tank circuit breakers are commonly used in HV levels and how they are usually tested. We also discussed the importance of motion tests and their difficulties with him. Additional challenges in North America include the influences of Current Transformers that are typically built-in and how to overcome their effects on measurement results. We also emphasized the importance of performing insulation tests with dead tank circuit breakers. Our expedition took us across the Atlantic to Northern Germany, where we talked to Bastian Wölke from Westnetz GmbH. Dead tank circuit breakers are rarely seen; we discussed live tank circuit breakers, focusing on maintaining their vast fleet of MV circuit breakers. With 25 years of experience, Bastian has far-reaching insight into the most efficient testing procedures and trends from older circuit breakers as well as newer alternatives. We also had an in-depth discussion about the future of circuit breakers, how they might be tested, and the challenges of modern technologies. After getting a European perspective, we crossed the globe to arrive in Australia, where we gained more insights from Florian Predl and Tibor Congo from Melbourne. Interestingly, there isn’t a preferred type of circuit breaker in their area; dead tank and live tank circuit breakers are both commonly used, depending on the physical condition of the substation and the operators’ personal preferences. We learned about a specific practice that allows dynamic resistance measurements to be performed on dead tank circuit breakers, and we looked into future trends like online testing and monitoring. CIRCUIT BREAKER TESTING AROUND THE WORLD How are circuit breakers being tested on different continents? In our podcast Energy Talks we have published a circuit breaker testing series in which experts from different regions discuss what is essential to their daily work. USA Germany Australia 30
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